February 27, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish and is just my favourite meme out there in that it caters to both my love of books and obsession with lists of things.

This week: Musical Boys and Why I Love Them So.

Once again, I am aware that it is not Tuesday. I am also aware that this list contains only five things, not ten. I am additionally aware that this is a post that I have posted before, back in the early days of my blogging career (almost, in fact, four years ago). But I love it and I love the subject matter and when I realised that this week TTT could be about ANYTHING, this is what I thought of. Now, I could probably get this list up to ten if I had any time but I now work at the library six days a week. SIX. So I just don't. If you would like to add your own contributions in the comments it would make my day - if not, just enjoy the musical marvels below:

Five: Edward – Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

I nearly didn't include Edward. Number five was almost going to be Sam from Shiver. Who is less disturbing, really. However, Edward really fits my mould better. He is troubled, has a dark secret, and is clearly very hot. Sadly, he does not display any humour and also has stalker like tendencies. He is here, however, because his piano playing saves him for me as a character. He sit forget all the creepy stuff. Not enough to let it go entirely, but still... The lovely Robert Pattinson tipped this for me when I saw him actually playing the piano in the Twilight movie. With his own hands (which, less face it, was the ONLY selling point of the ENTIRE FILM). Swoon....thud.

Four: Joe – The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Joe plays guitar and horn and pretty much everything else you can think of. Unlike many of the others on this list, he is not troubled when we meet him. He is happy and lovely and plays music for the sheer joy of it. I would like him to live in my kitchen with his guitar. And his eyelashes. I would feed him cookies and he would play me songs. Bat. Bat. Bat. Strum. Strum. Bat. Etc.

Three: James – Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

Again, James was nearly knocked of his post by Sam (another Maggie creation). In the end, however, I just like James more. He plays the pipes. I live in Scotland where most guys playing the pipes are large and sweaty. Not so, James! He is hot and lovely. He also plays the piano under the tutelage of another hot, musical guy (the fantastic Sullivan- I have no idea what Sullivan plays but he rocks a Julliard sweater, so he must be pretty good. And hot). James is one of my favourite male protagonists of recent times and again he is smart, funny, troubled and caring. Perfect. Also, he writes random words all over his hands which should probably ring alarm bells regarding mental illness, but is actually just really sexy.

Two: Jace – The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Aaaah, Jace. You were so nearly number one. What a guy... Let's check our list of qualifying attributes: Is he hot? Man, yes. Like Michaelangelo angel hot. Is he troubled? Yes – major family issues. And then some. Is he smart? Uh-huh – he speaks about a dozen languages and seems to be able to quote from every book of note ever written. Is he funny? Laugh out loud and role on the floor so. Most importantly – is he musical? Yes, yes, yes. Even better, he plays the piano in “a desultory fashion”. He's so good, he doesn't even care! I may marry him one day.

One: Sebastian – Sadler's Wells Series by Lorna Hill

So, you may be wondering where all this has come from, this obsession with men and music. Well, we have now reached the crux of the matter. I first read the Sadler's Wells books when I was about nine. I was really into ballet, and that is what they focus on so I was happy (there are also a lot of horses featured, but you can't have everything). Sebastian doesn't appear in all of the books, just the first two where he plays antagonist and love interest to heroine Veronica. Sebastian is smart, wickedly so, and unlike any other character on this list is absolutely driven by his music. He cannot live without it, or Veronica, for whom he plays while she dances (usually in some swoony outdoor setting). He is hot – all piercing blue eyes and long piano-player fingers. He is also a bit of a bad boy – in that he can be a bit cruel, his humour sarcastic and his judgements final. Importantly, he has some issues involving family and being chucked out of his ancestral home. For years he was all I looked for in a boy – it is no coincidence that my first love was an immensely talented, hugely sarcastic, slightly broken piano player. And just as Sebastian informed my choices in men then, I suspect he perhaps still does. Ah, Sebastian – you got me at an impressionable age, and my heart remains with you....